Author's Note: Some weird issues tend to occur when uploading different file types, so you'll probably notice some weird series of characters preceding each paragraph. Ignore them entirely. They are the result of me trying to keep up with paragraphs and paragraph breaks and blah, blah, blah, other stuff.

This story is weird to place in StarFox continuity, so my advice is that you place this story after Adventures, and possibly Assault, but in regards to Command, I presume it doesn't really fit in with any of the multiples continuities that game creates. Krystal is not currently present, but I haven't decided if this is because of Command, or if she's simply not present.

So, with that being said, enjoy, and I'll hope to have this updated soon. Ciao.

StarFox: ReUnition

Prologue

P*- I cannot remember what James McCloud was like, though I wish I could. I never really knew him, and, by extension, he never really knew me. Had he been alive throughout my life, I can only imagine how it would have been different. But that doesn't really matter anymore. He's gone. And I am his son. Both are facts. Both are truths. I know who he was.

P*- Sadly, I can't make the same claim of myself.

P*- The stars had always held an inner beauty, to me, that most people could never see. They could look up into the sky and see them. But I feel as though no one has ever taken the time to simply look at them. To admire them.

P*- I love the stars. They are my home. I don't really consider any one planet my home, any one place in the Lylat System. I do not spend enough time, anymore, on them to really call any planet home. The Great Fox is the closest physical thing to being called a home, but it is simply a residence, a place where I sleep, socialize, and drink coffee. Not a home, just a place to not be alone.

P*- But out there, on the other hand, that is my home.

P*- Among the swirling nebulae, the dashing meteors, the vortexes and planetary satellites, that is where I am home. That is where I am truly free.

P*- The central hub of the Great Fox always retained a state of permanent volume. Some of us could not get any sleep over the sound of Falco and Slippy eternally (verbally) digging at each other's throats. In the earlier days of our StarFox team (which should properly be called StarFox II), Peppy had tried to (literally) shut them up and (physically) knock sense into them. To no avail.

P*- I personally had grown used to these kinds of sounds and ruckuses, simply opting to block them out with a pair of very good headphones and a StarTunes account. Under those conditions, I was usually able to sleep in one of the (extremely uncomfortable) pilot chairs. Otherwise: coffee.

P*- Aboard the Great Fox and working with StarFox, there was precisely one rule: keep the coffee pot full. A certain Fox McCloud such as myself was liable to break someone or something, otherwise. If my memory is correct, Falco still has a scar under his left wing as evidence of this. I will not lie, I can be violent if I so choose to be. But I digress.

P*- One particular sleep-deprived day began (I say, as if the previous one had technically ended) with an electronic voice informing us of an incoming transmission from Corneria.

P*- I gave a sigh of relief. Usually the echoing din of madness ended when we were given a mission. The completion of said mission generally resulted in the return of the madness, but that is neither here nor there.

P*- The Great Fox's AI, ROB 64, patched us through to the transmission signal and a moment later, the holographic monitor on the hub's main wall lit up. A large blown up image of a certain red clad General Pepper covered the expanse.

P*- "Greetings to you, StarFox," he began, rather formally, "I have a request of your Team in a matter of great interest."

P*- "Oh yeah, what kind of 'great interest?'" Falco popped off.

P*- "I have a mission for you that I would almost say goes far beyond anything else you have done." said the General, "And I think that it will prove most valuable. I will also be willing to pay rather greatly for your help."

P*- "Consider it done!" Falco exclaimed, eyes appearing to light up at the prospect of money. Though it did occur to me to ask what he was so interested in, I chose not to.

P*- "Shouldn't we at least find out what it is, though?" asked Slippy. I could practically feel the time slow down as I mentally awaited Falco's-

P*- "Shut up, Slippy!" There it was.

P*- "Go on, General," I said, attempting to retain a sense of order in my mind, but feeling that that might prove futile at best.

P*- "Thank you." The General nodded in my direction, "Now then. Our research teams have picked up some information regarding a previously unexplored planet, right on the edge of the Lylat System."

P*- Unexplored planet? I had thought every planet had been explored. Wasn't that part of some military campaign a couple of years ago? My interest had been piqued.

P*-"Hang on, what unexplored planet? Didn't the Cornerian Army fund a mass exploration several years ago, as a way to locate and contain Andross's forces?"

P*- "That is correct. However, the planet in question, which we have dubbed Antonia, was specifically and deliberately kept off of that exploration, due to reasons of-"

P*- "It was too far out and would have cost too much to send resources to explore." Falco said smartly.

P*- "Among other reasons, you are not wrong. However, it is now within our best interests to examine this planet and I would like you four to do it. As I said, I am willing to pay a very hefty sum."

P*- "A moment, please. Do you mind telling us why this is so crucial?" asked Peppy, who had remained silently, until then.

P*- "Err…" started the General.

P*- "Oh, who cares. Let's do it already!" There was Falco again, being brash and birdbrained.

P*- Falco, Falco, Falco… What were you thinking? But none of us, obviously me included, objected to his decision. In fact, the General didn't even wait for any denial or objection and took Falco's words immediately, possibly also to avoid any possibility of someone declining the mission. Not that anyone would, at the time. All things considered, as the General told it to us, this was just an exploration. Nothing could go wrong.

P*- And why did I not then consider our history with these sort of missions? Krazoa, Apperoids, Anglars, not to mention the countless excursions with Andross's forces. Clearly nothing could go wrong.

P*- "Very good! Thank you for accepting this mission. As I said, it's of great importance, so be careful. I'll have the direct coordinates sent over to you right away. The sooner you get set out, the better." And the hologram fizzed out, causing the monitor to dim.

P*- Alright, I thought, slowly sinking into my chair, this can only end well.

P*- And right on schedule (well, possibly ahead of, depending on one's world view), Slippy looked to Falco and began another bout of arguing by stating the phrase "What were you thinking?!"

P*- I sunk even deeper, confining myself to a pair of headphones and a loud track about falling in love with a Saurian. Say what you will about the General, but right then, I agreed with him on one thing: The sooner we set out, the better.

P*- "If the General's coordinates are correct," Peppy started, "We will be reaching Antonia quite shortly."

P*- "Alright," Falco said, "Wake me up when we get there."

P*- "Shouldn't we at least make some kind of plan before you go off snoozing?" said Slippy, which resulted in a classic Falco "Shut up, Slippy!" that I never quite understood.

P*- "Well, if you two pigeons are done, I think we should at least consider our options first." I said, annoyed. Maybe I had woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning, but I was definitely not actually in the mood for their bickering.

P*- Somehow, I was not surprised by the response of "Shut up, Fox!"

P*- "Okay," Peppy began once more, "We know next to- actually, we know precisely nothing about this planet we're visiting. So, with that in mind, any suggestions?"

P*- "Enh, just drop Fox off on the surface, let him do all the heavy work." Well, thank you, Falco. "Weren't we planning on doing that, anyway?" Once again, thank you, Falco.

P*- "Hey, you know I look good in a tank," I said, earning me a mildly frightening look from Peppy and a mildly disturbed look from Slippy.

P*- "No thank you, Fox. I like to fly solo."

P*- "With that established, can we get back to the topic at hand? I'm all in favor of sending Fox, but we don't really know what we're dealing with. This isn't like Sauria, where at least we knew some of the residents were non-hostile." Peppy, my friend, thank you.

P*- "Please define 'non-hostile,' because I do happen to remember a certain SharpClaw general, you know, the one that tried to kill me."

P*- "Precisely. In these circumstances, though, we know nothing of Antonia's inhabitants, or even what the climate's like. So, in lieu of sending Fox into potentially vicious territory, I think we should throw in some reinforcements."

P*- Silence. A first, by all standards, but at those words, the Great Fox became extremely quiet. I could actually feel a certain avian growing uncomfortable at the implications.

P*- "Congrats, Falco, I think he's saying-"

P*- "Shut up, Slippy! I know what he's saying!"

P*- Cue arguing. I actually managed to tune the two out and sat that way, zoned out, for an impressive ten minutes before Peppy brought me back to the world of the living, which relied heavily on a cleverly thrown "SHUT YOUR YAPS AND LISTEN!"

P*- "When we arrive at Antonia, we're ALL taking an Arwing, and we're ALL going to see what's going on. Got it? We're ALL going out."

P*- "Sheesh, not going to buy dinner first?' Really, Falco?

P*- "Shut up, I'm getting a headache and you're not helping. Can you all just shut up for FIVE MINUTES? That'd be stupendous." I growled, "Just shut up until we get there and let me think!"

P*- "Do you use y-"

P*- "Just SHUT UP!"

P*- And for the first time in the history of our little StarFox team, for the duration of the flight, there was silence. Beautiful silence.

Chapter One

P*- Approaching us from the distance was a great orb of planetary mass. A planet about half the size of Corneria and absurdly thick with green and blue and yellow and red. A sea of clouds covered a large portion of its surface, obscuring the land and sea beneath. The overall appearance was actually quite similar to Sauria to such a degree that I felt a minor nostalgia twinge at the thought.

P*- "We are approaching Antonia," Peppy informed, "In a matter of minutes we will be within the planet's orbit. ROB, while we're out, keep the Fox from crashing, will you?"

P*- "Affirmative."

P*- "Okay, everyone now, I would like you all to make sure you're all stocked up, because I have no idea what we're dealing with and someone-" A sharp look at Falco- "Couldn't keep his beak shut and let the General speak. So, make sure you have a blaster handy and loaded, just in case. Other than that, head to your Arwings and we'll hit the surface. We'll plot out our course better once we're there."

P*- "Gotcha," said Falco, stubbornly annoyed.

P*- "Aye-aye, captain!" said Slippy.

P*- Partially lost in thought, I gave a short Mm-hm and made my way through the halls to the carrier bay where we kept the Arwings. With all the prowess of an experienced, and admittedly showy, flier, I jumped into the cockpit of my own personal craft. I checked the gauges, double checked the fuel supply, triple checked the G-Diffusers, then buckled into the leather seat.

P*- The other three had just arrived by the time I had the communicators set up, operating on a personal channel on our own personal frequency coded by our beloved Slippy Toad. Oddly silent was the time spent by them inspecting their starships, before they too jumped into their cockpits. A series of indicator lights on the dashboard informed me that they had all linked up to the communication channel and that we were all live.

P*- "Alright team, as Peppy said, our top priority at the moment is simply to reach the planet. We don't know anything about the environment, or the… residents… so, just try to land safely and we'll go from there. Got it?" I said, wrapping my hands around the control yoke in front of me.

P*- After receiving confirmation from the others, I turned on the engines. A series of indicator lights for everything from shield gauges to gravity diffusion lit up. I felt the familiar hum of the engines vibrate through my hands as I pulled back on the yoke, causing the Arwing to slowly rise.

P*- The surrounding three Arwings lifted from the metallic ground, at which point I punched a key code into one of the computers to my left. The back wall of the bay began to lower soundlessly, forming a sort of runway. A vast blackness poured through the door, with only the stars to break it.

P*- "Alright, on three everyone. Got it? One… two…" I jerked the yoke forward, "THREE!" And the configuration of Arwings roared through the bay, and across the runway, and finally, into the vastness of space. I allowed myself a quick glance back, just to verify that the bay door was closing, then I returned to looking out and onto the speeding planet, the planet the had previously never been explored. The planet whose existence we knew nothing of, the planet whose purpose we knew not of. The planet upon which none of us knew we would experience the greatest expedition we had ever journeyed.

P*- If we had known anything of the future that was coming to us because of this planet, I wonder how we would have dealt with the mission given to us by the General? I often tend to wonder if he had known anything, and if he had, why he didn't tell us. Clearly the four that left that planet would have been the same four that had landed on it.

P*- As our configuration flew across the planet's atmosphere, I spotted a large plateau which appeared to be void of hazard. I pointed this out to Peppy who told the other two, and, with a destination in mind, we began the spiralling rapid descent through the clouds.

P*- For reasons that were unknown to me, or to any of the others, none of the countless radars and detectors aboard the Arwings picked up the large belt of pseudo-asteroids that lay beneath the cloud cover. The very logic of these asteroids was lost to me, but then, I had very little time to consider them at length, because it was maybe a sheer second of reaction time that I had to pull out of the dive.

P*- "Look ou-" I managed to get out before I watched the other three come face-to-face with the impossible belt of floating rocks. Unfortunately, face-to-face was not quite the correct term. As I sat still in the air, kept stable and stationary by the propulsion jets I had flicked on the moment I pulled out of the near fatal dive, I watched the three unaware Arwing jets get dashed to shreds by incoming rock.

P*- "No!" I shrieked as the starcrafts fell to the surface below. Pieces of machinery flew upwards and around the comets that were my friends, trailing frictionless fire. My practiced eyes darted across the surface, between each ship, through the air surrounding.

P*- My heart skipped a beat, but caught up with itself as I saw the falling shapes of the three pilots, who had managed to pull their parachutes and eject themselves from their wrecked crafts. A combination of wind and gravity pulled them in three separate directions.

P*- With a sudden determination, I dove into the meteorol onslaught, dodging rock and metal, being pulled in several directions simultaneously by some unknown force, outside that of the planet's natural gravity.

P*- And with a victorious cry, I pulled out onto the other side and continued my downward rush, following the path of one of the falling parachutes.

P*- I landed amid a swirling vortex of upturned grass and sand, killing the engines and the diffusers as I felt the Arwing jerk upon contact. As the debris settled, I opened the cockpit door, unbuckled myself, and leapt (again, admittedly somewhat showy) to the ground. The hatch closed behind me and, a moment later, the falling pilot I had followed landed with a soft thump.

P*- "What the heck was up with that?" panted Falco, unbuckling himself from the parachute harness, then dusting his feathers off, distracted.

P*- "Seriously," he continued, "What was up with that meteor storm up there? I mean come on, seriously."

P*- It was then, it appeared, that he noticed the absence of a certain hare and frog. "Really, those two seriously got themselves lost? Really? What else could go wrong?"

P*- Seriously Falco, you're gonna ask that? "Do I even have to point out what horrible a decision it was to say that?" I said, leaning against the Arwing.

P*- "Think about it: you just crash landed on an essentially unknown planet, emphasis, I might add, on crash. Your Arwing is busted beyond belief, and we're short to people. You do not seriously want to know what else could go wrong." I pointed outward to a smoking wreck of twisted metal and glass that was Falco's Arwing.

P*- "Okay, fair enough, wise guy. Any idea what to do, now?"

P*- "Well, we were given a mission to explore the planet. I think we have a good enough reason to go exploring. You know, what with them missing, and all."

P*- "Sounds good to me. So, which way do you wanna go?" he asked, looking out into the surrounding areas, "Great fiery mountain of death and despair, great watery ocean of despair, or great… um… leafy…? I don't know… forest of despair?"

P*- I then took the time to realize that I knew nothing of our location, or anything about the locations surrounding us. A brief glance in all directions revealed that Falco's environmental analysis (sarcastic as it was) was pretty apt. For the most part, there was simply a large mountain in one direction, surrounded, it appeared, by the forest that walled off one end of the plateau on which we now stood. And on the other end was an obvious sheer cliff, overlooking a sea of crashing waves.

P*- "Personally, I hate the smell of wet dogs, myself, so I think we should go in the direction that does not involve water. How about you?"

P*- "That's just wrong, pigeon," I said, "I'm not a dog, and, despite the obvious interests of some, I'm better in water than you. Forest it is. Let's get on with it."

P*- "Oh, quack off," Falco retorted, but turned in the direction of the surrounding forest.

P*- And with the unfortunate vulgarity of Falco's birdbrained vocabulary, our adventure began.